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Michael Nyman (born March 23, 1944) is a British minimalist composer, pianist, librettist and musicologist, perhaps best known for the many scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the British filmmaker Peter Greenaway.

Nyman, who had studied with the noted Baroque music scholar Thurston Dart at King’s College London, drew frequently on early music sources in his scores for Greenaway’s films: Henry Purcell in The Draughtsman’s Contract and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber in A Zed and Two Noughts, Mozart in Drowning by Numbers, and John Dowland in Prospero’s Books.

Nyman’s popularity increased significantly after he wrote the score to Jane Campion’s award-winning 1993 film The Piano. The album (“The Piano”) became a classical music best-seller. Although Nyman’s score was central to the movie he did not receive an Academy Award nomination despite being nominated for both a British Academy Award and a Golden Globe. He has scored numerous other films, the vast majority of them art films from Europe. His few forays into Hollywood composing have been Gattaca (“Gattaca”), Ravenous (with musician Damon Albarn), and The End of the Affair (“The End of The Affair”).

Among Nyman’s better known non-film works are Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs (1987), for soprano, alto, tenor and instrumental ensemble (based on Nyman’s score for La Princesse de Milan); Ariel Songs (1990) for soprano and band; MGV (Musique à Grande Vitesse) (1993) for band; concertos for piano (based on The Piano score), harpsichord, trombone and saxophone; the opera The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1986), based on a case-study by Oliver Sacks; and several string quartets.

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soundtrack, classical, piano, minimalism, contemporary classical
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The Piano
Michael Nyman
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Gattaca
Michael Nyman
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Drowning By Numbers
Michael Nyman
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A Zed and Two Noughts
Michael Nyman
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Top Tracks

1	The Promise	694
2	Big My Secret	579
3	The Heart Asks Pleasure First	522
4	A Bed of Ferns	486
5	The Sacrifice	479
6	To the Edge of the Earth	459
7	The Scent of Love	408
8	Here To There	379
9	A Wild and Distant Shore	378
10	The Mood that Passes through You	361
11	Deep into the Forest	347
12	The Heart Asks Pleasure First/The Promise (Edit) full track	343
13	Little Impulse	325
14	The Embrace	321
15	Lost and Found	279

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hamod wrote:
28 days ago

Amazing... Тревожно/торжественно/солнечно

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kaplain wrote:
November 2009

Hi all, my debut album is out, if you enjoy ambient piano music like Rachel Grimes, Yann Tiersen, Max Richter, Michael Nyman ... Download High MP3 or Flac+ full digital booklet at http://stephanehoreczko.bandcamp.com/ or shop at iTunes, Amazonmp3, emusic, Lala, Rhapsody .... warmest regards http://stephane.horeczko.free.fr

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madhoyden wrote:
November 2009

Does anyone know where I can get the piece where Sophie was daydreaming about her lover during the family gathering in Never Forever? I can't find the soundtrack for the film.

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abrigodesign wrote:
November 2009

bien sur merci :°)

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Amnesiac92 wrote:
November 2009

Going back to my earlier point, I am not saying The Piano work is not great, just that because it is the "nicest" and most commercially "normal" shouldn't mean that it is all that is at the top. What about "Time Lapse", "Memorial", "Chasing sheep is best left to the shepards", "An eye for optical theory", "Bird list", "Not knowing the ropes", etc etc None in the top 15? And there are others as well. rant over.

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robetar wrote:
November 2009

Prospero's Books is beautiful...

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iris_nik wrote:
November 2009

Amazing...

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Antikrun wrote:
November 2009

The cook the thief ! =))

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Pirate_Alliance wrote:
November 2009

True liberating music! Though I must say I'm quite surprised that 'Chasing sheep is best left to the sheppard' isn't in the top 15... = /

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nDroae wrote:
November 2009

Lol, Amnesiac92, I have most of the stuff you mentioned and I actually prefer some of it to much of The Piano. But IMO The Piano Concerto is far better than anything else, so THAT ought to be on top of the charts.... ;)

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Dysgenic wrote:
October 2009

Brilliant

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Frogalezito wrote:
October 2009

The Claim <3

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definitelylara wrote:
October 2009

God I love this music <3

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phototropism wrote:
October 2009

Yeh me neither!

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sursik wrote:
October 2009

can't wait for the glare

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Amnesiac92 wrote:
September 2009

I love Michael Nyman but prefer his early stuff, the pre "the heart asks for pleasure first" stuff which is less well known looking at the top tracks here. His early stuff for Peter Greenaway films such as Draughtsmans contract (how is "chasing sheep is best left to the shepards" not in the top 15????), a zed and two noughts, Drowning by numbers (a brilliant soundtrack). his best imo is his soundtrack to A walk through h but it is almost impossible to get hold of. I don't like his more mainstream work from the Piano onwards, he started with very playful fun songs but he has gone on to do boring mainstream stuff.

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nDroae wrote:
September 2009

Nightwish adaptation of The Heart Asks Pleasure First

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CashSugar wrote:
September 2009

"The Heart Asks Pleasure First" is my all time favorite piano piece. The first time I heard it I was utterly stunned, it was a complete shock of musical genius and emotional burst. Since, each time I hear it, it gives me the goosebumps and lifts my spirit to the skies. [4]

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AvintageClassic wrote:
September 2009

"The Heart Asks Pleasure First" is my all time favorite piano piece. The first time I heard it I was utterly stunned, it was a complete shock of musical genius and emotional burst. Since, each time I hear it, it gives me the goosebumps and lifts my spirit to the skies. [3]

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Myrkrith wrote:
September 2009

if you like him, you should have a look at my stuff... freestyle-improvisation at http://www.myrkrith.de

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